In Episode 25 of Venture Games, my guest Mike Pappas, CEO & Co-Founder at Modulate, discusses his company’s novel approach to voice moderation in gaming; how improved moderation might impact gaming culture for the better; and striking the right balance between player protection and player expression.

In Episode 24 of Venture Games, my guest Aron Beierschmitt, CEO & Co-Founder at Laguna Games, discusses pivoting from web2 to web3 games to build Crypto Unicorns; why Laguna Games picked unicorns as its theme; some technical considerations around web3 gaming and the associated fees; and community engagement in web3 games

In Episode 23 of Venture Games, my guest Nick Bhardwaj, Partner at The Tribe Group, discusses his past experience at NaturalMotion, which was later acquired by Zynga; parallels between the gaming industry’s shift to mobile/freemium and the emergence of web3 gaming; some considerations when building for crypto-native vs. traditional gamer audiences; and some ways to help bridge the gap between web 3 games and traditional gamers.

In Episode 22 of Venture Games, my guest Timmu Tõke, CEO and Co-Founder at Ready Player Me, discusses the importance of avatars and digital identities in the metaverse; his thoughts on interoperability; NFTs and PFPs; and his opinion on whether the future of the metaverse will look like Ready Player One.

In Episode 21 of Venture Games, my guest Charles Hudson, Managing Partner at Precursor Ventures, discusses investing in early stage companies as a solo GP; co-founding Bionic Panda Games, an early, Android-focused mobile gaming startup; his thoughts on the Metaverse and blockchain gaming; and his reflections on diversity in the VC/tech ecosystem.

In Episode 20 of Venture Games, my guest Marlon Nichols, Managing General Partner at MaC Venture Capital, discusses his firm’s thesis of investing in culture and companies impacting culture; his investment in PlayVs; his investment in Faze Clan; and some of his thoughts on diversity in the VC/startup ecosystem.

In Episode 19 of Venture Games, my guest Manuel Bronstein, Chief Product Officer at Roblox, discusses the evolution of social gaming to become truly immersive shared experiences; his past work experience in social gaming at Xbox Live and Zynga to now leading product at a global UGC platform; and thoughts on the Metaverse, NFTs, and blockchain.

In Episode 18 of Venture Games, my guest Dan Porter, CEO at Overtime, discusses how his work at Teach for America influenced his thinking on culture/diversity, his time building OMGPop/Draw Something and whether the game would have the same impact today, and how Overtime has succeeded despite the ongoing challenges many sports media brands are facing today.

In Episode 17 of Venture Games, my guest Ian Proulx, CEO at 1047 Games, the studio behind Splitgate, discusses what inspired him to build Splitgate, how he remained optimistic despite a slow, challenging start for his company, advice for founders facing similar initial challenges, his plans to maintain Splitgate’s momentum, and the future of 1047 Games and the Splitgate universe.

In Episode 16 of Venture Games, my guest Kai Bond, Partner at Courtside Ventures, discusses founding multiple startups, the continued convergence of sports/culture with gaming and the investment implications of these trends, some of his thoughts on NFTs/blockchain in gaming, and the diversity challenges in tech/VC.